Silver Linings
by LilacPetals21
Summary: "Sometimes, Just spending some quality time with a good friend, is the only therapy you need..." Headcanon fanfic.


**A/N: While playing Minecraft story mode, one of the things that caught my attention, was the interactions between Aiden and Lukas and that got me thinking: What if they've been friends since they were kids? What if something happened during Aiden's childhood that shaped him into the arrogant jerk we now know today? There could be so many possibilities and I decided to expand on the idea a bit in this story. I personally think they used to be really close or even best friends before their friendship fell apart before the events of the fifth episode.**

**Timeline: **_**Way **_**before the first episode. The ocelots and the new order are little kids at this point.**

**Whole Hearted.**

It was a bright and sunny day in the unique and block filled world of minecraftia. White, cubic clouds scattered across the ocean blue sky, drifting away with great slowness. A perfect day for the citizens of stone brook to emerge from their homes and resume their daily activities, after having to stay indoors for three days due to the non-stop downpour of rain.

A brown haired little boy dressed in a green t-shirt and khaki shorts, took a long deep breath as he felt the soothing warmth of sun on his face. He sure missed the good old sunny days. Who would have thought you'd end up missing them after seeing nothing but grey clouds and rain showers for only a few days.

Little Aiden walked to the damaged, makeshift armor stand laying on the ground and put it back on its feet. He had gotten the stand in exchange for only two iron nuggets from a wandering trader, a strangely low price for an armor stand, since whatever those travelling traders tended to sell during their short stays were by no means, inexpensive. He figured it probably had something to do with the fact that the nearly useless, broken object was a burden for him to carry on his trips and wanted to get rid of that thing as soon as possible. And since no one was willing to waste their emeralds on it, he lowered the price from one emerald to only two iron nuggets.

He remembered the trader's rather amusing reaction when he asked for the stand, literary shoving his iron nuggets in his stomach. The traveler just stood there and gawked at him, eyes widening three times more than their normal size. Not that he blamed him. There was a great possibility that the poor guy had never seen a little kid, asking for a freaking_ armor_ _stand_ of all things, in his travelling years. And that might have given him the impression the people in this town fight zombies and other nocturnal mobs from a young age and need stands for their obviously non-existent armors.

After handing him the stand with complete uncertainty, grinning nervously he took a few steps back and hopped on his llama and ran off with an unbelievably high speed. Aiden chuckled at the memory. He had probably scared him off with his weird request. He wouldn't be surprised if the trader never set foot in their town ever again.

Long story short, he got to own an actual armor stand, even if it looked like it could fall apart into nothing but a pile of sticks and stone any minute. However, Aiden treated it like a well-earned treasure.

He wasn't planning on putting any armor on it because clearly, little kids weren't allowed to use those sort of fancy, battle related things and aside from that, he wouldn't want to put any armor on a low quality stand, even if he had one. The wooden item may not be good enough to hold any armor for him, but it sure made a great training dummy for his sword fighting practice.

Having watched multiple plays centered on the order and their adventures, he has taken a huge liking to sword fighting, going as far as practicing every single move he's learned from the said plays with the wooden sword he owned. Aside from visiting the library and having a good read from all kinds of adventure books, it was one of his most favorite things he tended to do on his free time. Whenever he didn't have any classes to attend or whenever he _skipped_ his classes to be more precise, he would leave the town to practice his sweet moves in peace and quiet without anyone bothering him.

Aiden took a few steps back and smirked at the direction of the stand. "You better be prepared, cause you're about to witness the coolest sword trick by the best warrior around here." He smugly stated pointing his sword at the battered wooden object. With that said, the brunet raised his sword above his head and dashed toward the armor stand with an exaggerated battle cry. He was going to deliver a nice blow from above when he suddenly tripped on his feet and fell on the small wooden structure with thud, his sword flying inches away from him.

Aiden groaned as he raised his head and rubbed the sore area in his chest. He watched as the now broken armor stand disappeared with a poof and the puff of smoke rose into the air. His destroyed training dummy was the least thing he was concerned about. He had more important things to worry about, like the newly formed injury on his right knee and the throbbing ache in his torso.

Aiden bit lip and tried to touch the wounded area, but quickly drew his hand back and hissed in pain. "Dang it!" He swore under his breath." It doesn't look good at all. I just hope it doesn't become infected."

He must have made a scene with his sword fighting shenanigans because seconds later he heard a group of kids, somewhat older than him laughing their heads off, pointing rudely at him. Aiden mentally face palmed himself as he instantly recognized the usual, annoying sniggers.

"_Not these idiots again." _

"Well well well, look what we've got here…" The one in the lead jeered as he approached the slightly younger boy with his gang of four. "It's Aiden the klutz."

The whole group burst out laughing. "What's the matter? Are you hurt little boy? Better call mommy to pick you up and take you home."

The fallen young boy struggled to get on his feet, glaring nastily at the bullies. Getting a knee injury was bad enough, now he had to deal with being a laughing stock for the rest of the school year.

"Oh great, dealing with you creeps is the last thing I need." He finally got up and dusted off his pants. "Why won't you leave me alone for a second? I'm sick and tired of you picking on me every freaking chance you get." Aiden growled, imagining every single way possible to beat the heck out of these idiots. He could easily be triggered and unleash a wave of colorful curse words and insults in less than a minute that would scare the living daylights out of anyone who dared to mess with him, especially those who tended to bully him on a regular basis.

Kevin and his gang were their town's most feared bullies. They towered over the shorter kids and whoever that had misfortune of becoming his target for bullying. They stole their launch and money and had no qualms about teasing anyone whom they deemed much weaker and inferior than themselves. And Aiden as bad luck would have it, was unfortunate enough to be added to their long list.

Out of the whole kids in their small town, Aiden seemed to be the Kevin and his group's most favorite victim to torment and this had been going on since the day one, when he first moved to this town with his family. At times, his tormentors would just keep following him for a whole day, for the sake of solely showering him with never ending taunts and insults. Many more times, he was met with cruel remarks against his interests, or simply who he was. They would mock his anti-social tendencies, his social status or his taste in books. To add insult to injury, they would occasionally turn their whole class against him, just for the fun of it.

On some occasions, he would shrug it off with a frown. Other times, someone would end up with a black eye or multiple bruises.

"Oh come on now, we are just joking around here no need to get so worked up about it. I thought we were buddies." Kevin feigned a rather uncharacteristic sweet tone that made Aiden's stomach churn in disgust. He talked to him like a daycare provider would sweetly talk to a misbehaved toddler, in order to get him to behave.

Aiden brows creased and face hardened. "Buddies? I'd rather eat a whole block of dirt than being friends with a bunch of jerks like you. Now scram! I have more important things to do than wasting my time listening to your babbles." He dismissively waved his hands.

"See Aiden? That's exactly your problem. You keep driving people away with an attitude like that and then you wonder why no one wants to be friends with you."

Aiden's face flushed in embarrassment and anger. He clutched his fists and retorted. "That's so mean! I have way more _friends_ than you do Kevin."

"Feh, if you count books, bunch of lifeless objects as your friends, then you are seriously messed up in head. Face it Aiden, no one would want to be friends with an outcast loser like you." The bully sniggered and high fived his team mates. Aiden however, looked away with a frown.

As much as he hated and wanted to run away from the truth, he knew that wasn't going to change anything. Except for a certain kind hearted blonde, Aiden didn't have any friends. He was exactly what Kevin referred him as: An outcast. A troubled somebody who had a hard time getting along with anyone. He would pick fights with other kids for no reason at all, sabotage their handiwork if his wasn't good as them and he would always distance himself from everyone around him. He would sit all day on a bench watching the kids playing and laughing together without bothering to join any of them in their activities.

Aiden wasn't sociable in the slightest and he was very well aware of that, but that didn't mean these guys had the right to rub this in his face all the time.

"What the heck is this?" He snapped out of his thoughts and saw Kevin walking to the sword lying still on the ground. A smirk crawled its way to the bully's face as he picked it up. "Don't you think you're a little old for playing with toys?" He tossed it up with one hand nonchalantly as if it was of no importance.

"It's not a toy! And it's tougher than it looks." Aiden stomped his foot to prove his point.

"Is that so?" Kevin looked at the wooden sword one more time. He grinned wickedly as a vicious plan formed in his mind. "In that case, let's see how _tough _this sword of yours really is."

The leader of the gang proceeded to hold the wooden staff in his both hands, bending it to snap it in half. Aiden's eyes widened in fear as his most prized sword was seconds away from becoming completely sabotaged.

"What are you doing!? Leave my sword alone!" Aiden angrily marched toward the bully, but stopped midway when both of his wrists were grasped by two of Kevin's gang mates, forcing him to watch the uncomfortable scene. He shot them a death glare and struggled to break free of their grasps.

"Oh why look at that. Little Aiden wants his toy back. Isn't that adorable guys?" He joked dryly. His crew nodded and snickered in approval. Aiden was now starting to become fed up with their unnecessarily cruel behavior. In a split-second, he bite the hand of the boy on his right, followed by kicking the other one in his shin, making them scream in pain and release their grip on him. Taking advantage of their distress, he marched toward their leader, who was now stunned in the silence. Kevin quickly snapped out of his dazed state and held the sword so high so he couldn't reach it. Aiden growled and targeted the taller boy with endless kicks and punches.

"Give me back my sword. Give it back you idiot!" The green t-shirt clad boy hissed as his fist came in contact with the bully's chest, followed by many directed to his stomach. Becoming annoyed with his constant kicking and punching, he angrily pushed Aiden back and he landed on his rear with a thud. This sudden shift in the other boy's behavior took him completely off guard and he stared at his tormentor in shock and confusion.

"Will you cut it out for a second? You're getting so worked up over a useless stick? Just get another one it's not that hard." He crinkled his nose in displeasure as he inspected the sword. "Besides, it looks kind of ugly if you ask me."

If Aiden didn't fully hate the guy before, he now officially did. He loved that sword. He spent restless hours on the crafting table crafting it without anyone's help and he had the nerve to talk smack about it and his efforts like that. Not that this brain dead dope would understand any of that or the reason why he even carried a wooden weapon in the first place. Neither he nor any of his friends had to walk home at the sunsets, completely on their own and not possessing anything better than a low quality weapon to fend off the monsters when they preyed on him in the woods.

Deciding to take a different approach, Aiden stood up and straightened his posture.

"What's the matter? Giving up so soon? Thought so. I knew you don't have the guts to try and fight me."

An annoyed yet exhausted sigh escaped from his lips and his angry expression softened to a more neutral one. Instead of throwing the bully a barrage of punches and kicks for a second time, he settled for a simple yet firm glare. Instead of fighting with words, he usually chose to fight with fists and much preferred the latter, but this time was different. He neither had the energy nor the interest fight back now that his injured knee was starting to worsen his already foul mood. Maybe just maybe, he could somehow reason with this guy and make him leave him alone for good.

"I'm saying this once Kevin so you better listen carefully," He made sure his tone is serious enough to make them listen. "I'm not in the mood for any of this stuff and nonsense, so I'm just going to give you a fair warning. Either you will kindly return my sword, or I'll make you regret every time you picked on me." He jabbed a threatening finger at his tormenter's chest. His warning came out much harsher than he originally planned, but he was secretly satisfied nonetheless.

He would have smiled when the bully's eyes widened a little, but he was still in a bad mood. It worsened when his look quickly melted into one of mockery and broke into a fit of laughter.

"Oh notch, are you serious?" Another laugh escaped from his mouth. "It's like a joke right?"

Aiden could practically feel the throbbing veins in his neck and he found himself in the edge of ripping out his hair. "I'm serious! There are limits to my tolerance and you wouldn't try to cross it if you know what's good for you."

"Oh yeah?" Kevin chuckled some more as he was not planning to cut it out anytime soon. He put his hands on his hips and brought his face so close that Aiden could feel his breathing against his face. It made him flinch inwardly. "What are you gonna do? Snitch on me to your mommy? Go on, go tell her you big baby. That's the only thing you can probably do right."

Aiden's eyes saw red for a second. He did his best and tried to reason with somebody for the first time in his life, but he was starting to see that reasoning with someone with absolutely zero common sense was completely and utterly useless. If this bozo was looking for trouble, so be it.

He would be a coward if he backed down from a fight and let them get away with this behavior easily .

"Hey jerk wad, why don't you pick on someone your own size?" Came aloud and irritated voice from behind.

Immediately, they all the turned around to see who dared to interrupt their heated dispute. They were looking at a blond boy whose dark blue eyes carried the most disinterested look they had ever seen. He was adorned with a pair of blue jeans, a red sweater and a blue and white striped t-shirt underneath.

The one and only Lukas.

"Well look who decided to show up," Kevin narrowed his eyes. "What are you doing here Lukas? Here to join the loser club?"

Lukas balled up his tiny hands into fists and took a few steps forward.

"You caused enough trouble for one day Kevin. If you want to spare yourself from something like what happened last time, you better give back Aiden's sword and leave him alone." Lukas made eye contact with Aiden holding his knee. His face was baring a surprised yet tired expression, as if he was secretly wishing to get out of this situation as soon as possible. Poor boy. He must have had a field day. He gave his friend a reassuring smile.

"Why do you even bother Lukas? You do realize you're tainting your name with the likes of him?" One of the members of Kevin's gang eyed him with pure spite, rubbing his bitten wrist. "You need to find better people to be friends with…"

Lukas couldn't believe his ears. How can somebody be so full of himself?

"I don't remember asking for your permission on that matter. Plus, Aiden is ten times better than all of you combined." He pointed at another direction. "Now leave before things get ugly. This is the last warning."

The whole gang fell silent. Kevin looked over at Aiden then to Lukas and groaned in annoyance.

"Fine. Take back your stupid sword." He threw the sword at Aiden's feet. He bent down and collected the wooden item from the ground. He hugged it closely to his chest, relieved and grateful that his beloved sword didn't take any damage. Lukas then made his way toward his friend and put a comforting hand on his back.

Kevin stomped past the younger boys, but stopped midway he turned to Aiden again. "You got lucky this time, but someday, mr Goody two- shoes won't be here to save you. And when that happens," His lips morphed into a smirk. "I'd like to see who's going to save your wimpy butt."

Aiden instantly pricked by his words, growled through his gritted teeth and prepared to hit him under the jaw before being stopped by Lukas, who shook his head discouragingly. "Don't do this Aiden. He's not worth it." He muttered to him under his breath. Aiden stared daggers at the bully before accepting with a nod.

"Come on you guys; let's leave these weirdos to themselves. They're not worth our time." He began to walk away with a bad mood and lightly shoved Lukas aside on his way. His friends followed their leader each throwing a glare at the two friends.

"Those idiots…hope we don't have deal with them again. At least for today." Lukas rolled his eyes and shook his head. He then turned around to face Aiden. "How are you doing? They didn't hurt you, did they?" He pointed at his knee. Aiden put the sword in his inventory and run his hand on the injured area. He winced and gritted his teeth in pain.

"It's just a scratch don't worry about it. I got it when I tripped on my feet. Nothing serious."

"That's a relief then. Here, I have some clean white banners from yesterday." Lukas pulled out a woolen textile and handed it over to his injured friend. "This can keep you going until you're back home."

Aiden mumbled a thanks before taking the pure white fabric from him. He wrapped the white clothing around his right knee and tied it.

"Man, I just hate it when they pick on you for no reason. It's like ten times in a row already." Lukas pitied him.

"I'm pretty much used to Kevin's shenanigans, but that guy seriously needs to get a life."

"Tell me about it. Guess I showed up just in time to save you, didn't I?" Lukas crossed his arms with a smirk.

"Ah please, I could've taken them out by myself. Those jerks are no match for me and my fists. "He stated arrogantly, punching the air several times. This made the boys chuckle.

"Yeah, no doubt. By the way, I actually came here because I wanted to show you something." Lukas then grabbed his arm and started dragging him. "Let's go and check it out!"

Aiden's eyes narrowed and slapped his hand away. "Woah, hold on a second there. You can't just drag me to notch knows where without giving me a clear answer." He put his hands on his hips with a frown. "Go on Lukas, spit it out."

"As if I'm going to tell you. You'll see it for yourself once we get there. Come on!" Lukas suddenly ran off, leaving Aiden dumb founded. He groaned and began to run after his friend.

"Hey Lukas wait up!"

Aiden walked silently alongside Lukas as they walked among the large acres of oak and birch trees toward their hometown. Aiden took a deep breath and proceeded to marvel at this little piece of heavenly dreamland. The rays of mellow sunlight filtered through the emerald green leaves, casting green-gold luminescence on the ground. The sweet smell of poppies and ox eye daisies mixed with the raw, earthy scent of fresh wet mud, filling the air. A flock of chickens came into view clucking and thriving as they gathered around to search for plant seeds. He closed his eyes as a strong gust of cool and breezy wind blew against his face, giving him a pleasing sensation.

'_Man, this place is too good for this world.'_ He mused with a smile.

Sometimes during daytimes, when the monsters were yet to be spawned and roam freely, he would escape the bustling atmosphere of the town and take refuge in the deepest depths of the evergreen forest. It was the soothing and appeasing environment that drew him to it from miles away. This certain area held a very special place in his heart. The place where he could be himself. Where he could read and write down his story ideas freely without any restraint. The place where he could be away from the bullying, loneliness and sadness that haunted and plagued his heart frequently. This special area was his happy place.

There were times, like any other person, which he would crumble down, without having anyone by his side to help him climb out of his sadness. It was as if a black mist of misery and despair had settled upon him and refused to shift in the slightest.

'_Loser, freak, weirdo, egghead, wimp, psychopath,…'_ Those were the words that he was well accustomed to and they whispered to him everywhere he went. He would describe those name callings like death by a million paper cuts, for every word exchanged it was a cut to his already damaged spirit that would eventually taint all that could bring him joy and life.

And many times, when nobody was there to witness his breakdown, Aiden would fall on his knees and burst into tears whenever he was pushed past endurance. He would cry until his eyes dried and was ready to face whatever fate had destined for him afterwards.

He sighed at the thought and shoved his hands in his pockets as they strolled by.

His little piece of heaven was where he could release pent up sadness and frustrations by reading a story book, writing his everyday events in his private journal, or simply taking a walk. He would take a break from carrying the overwhelming burden of his home life that his inattentive parents brought upon him. He could be liberated from the complications of his life for a brief time. Being entirely away from the bitter reality, away from his neglectful and abusive family, who never bothered to provide the emotional support he desperately craved and longed for. The parents who always chose to put their own needs and desires before him.

"I actually found it a few days ago when I went shopping with my dad. I wanted to show it to you a lot sooner, but forgot all about it." Lukas scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "But trust me; you're going to love it once you see it."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let's just get over with it." The crestfallen boy replied somewhat rudely his eyes down cast in a saddened gaze. Not that he wanted to sound so rude on purpose like that. He was too lost in his own thoughts to pay attention to anything else. Lukas was quick to pick up on his somber mood however.

"Hey, what's wrong? Are you okay?" He asked softly.

"I'm fine."

Lukas didn't buy it.

"No you're not. You've been quiet since we got here. Is there something bothering you?"

Aiden eyed him unsurely and stroke nape of his neck. Being an only child himself, he had come to see as the blond boy as a brother during this time they have been friends. Lukas was someone he knew he could always rely on for advice and emotional support whenever he was feeling down in the dumps. A huge part of him wanted to pour his heart out and release all of those bottled up negative emotions he had been hiding from everyone, behind his false tough façade for such a long time.

Despite all of that, he decided against it. He was perfectly aware that his friend would _never _ever rebuff his need for support and encouragement, but for some weird and stupid reason, he feared Lukas would magically and out of blue, end up hating him for being such a weak person and consequently, he would lose the first and only friend he ever had and managed to make in his entire life, and at the same time, _his brother_. That was what the smaller and oddly enough, the more dominant part of him kept shoving inside his mind. The much crueler part that paralyzed his psych with all sorts of disturbing thoughts and prevented him from freely expressing himself.

"It's nothing. I'll be fine. "Aiden waved off. There he was. Once again defeated by his inner demons.

"Aiden come on, you know you can trust me," He put his hand on his shoulder and encouraged with a smile. "Just tell me what's eating you. I promise I won't tell anyone."

But his encouraging words didn't seem to work as Aiden frowned and looked away. Disappointment was written all over Lukas's face. As much as he wanted to get to the bottom of his new found behavior, he didn't want to pressure him into doing something he didn't want to do. That would just end up making him mad more than before and that's definitely not going to improve his mood at all.

"If you don't want to talk about it, I understand. We can leave it for another time when…"

"I'm sick of it!" Aiden suddenly interrupted him. Not expecting this new reaction from his friend, Lukas's eyes widened in astonishment. "What did you say?"

"I said I'm tired of it. I'm sick and tired of others treating me like garbage every single chance they get. Of being made fun of for absolutely no reason at all. I'm serious Lukas; I've had enough with this whole bullying." His voice was shaking with sadness.

"Do you have any idea how it feels like to be an outcast? To feel unwanted everywhere you go and people trying to stay away from you as far as possible? I bet you don't. You don't have to go through any of this so I understand why you don't." His bright green eyes were shining with tears and he swallowed a lump in his throat. Lukas felt sorry for him.

"Aiden…"

"No matter what I do, they will always find a reason to make fun of me. They will always find a reason to hate me, but you? Everybody in this freaking town adores you. Even Kevin and his gang of jerks have some sort of a respect for you. I mean, they actually take you seriously. You are so lucky Lukas, did you know that?" Aiden sat down on the grass covered ground. He covered his head in his small hands, finally allowing his tears to fall.

"You don't have to deal with any of this. You have no idea how much I want to in your place."

Lukas glanced sympathetically at his troubled friend as the little water droplets streamed down his cheeks. He knelt beside him and put a comforting hand on his back.

"Aiden, I had no idea this has been bothering this whole time. Why didn't you tell me anything?"

"I just… I didn't want to seem like … some weak and helpless kid in front of anyone. And you were no exception." He sniffed.

"How does expressing yourself make you seem weak? You can seriously hurt yourself if you keep suppressing yourself like this."

Aiden only looked away without saying anything. He covered his head with arms and fresh tears rolled down his cheek. "I just don't know what to do. I get it, I'm not the most likable person around here, but I can't honestly help it. I wish there was some way I could make them stop saying those things to me."

Lukas rested his chin on his hands and tried to think of the right words calm down his upset friend. He wanted to convince him that things will eventually get better for him, to try and lift his spirit now that he has chosen to share his discomfort and insecurities with someone for the first time. But considering the overwhelming situation he is going through right now, he doubted Aiden would believe any of them. Nevertheless, he was willing to do it anyway. What Aiden needed right now was encouraging words and a boost in his spirit and he wanted to be there for his friend.

"Never turn your back on people who need You." was his motto for life.

Lukas took a seat in front of Aiden and put his hands on both of his shoulders.

"Aiden look. I understand how difficult it can be, but that's just the way some people are. They judge others however they want because they don't understand what they go through in their daily lives, but you should never let them get to you. They don't know you and they are not in your shoes. You can't make them stop right now because people would still talk, but Instead of paying attention to them, you can use their rude remarks as fuel to become someone better."

Lukas tightened his grip on his shoulders. " You can become someone who people will come to look up to in future. For their strength, for how they managed to come a long way despite the setbacks they had to face and deal with throughout their lives. I'm one hundred percent sure you're going to make a great role model for a lot of people."

Aiden stared at him through his watery eyes and wiped his tear stained eyes with his hand.

"Do you really think so?"

Lukas smiled warmly. "Of course I do. Believe me, some day in the near future…" Lukas let go of his shoulders and helped him on his feet. "You will look back and tell your past self that you finally did it. You finally managed to overcome these obstacles despite whatever life had thrown at you. That's when those people will realize they have been all wrong about you this whole time."

Aiden only blinked at his response. The sadness and sorrow that his face reflected minutes ago quickly drifted away and he found himself filled with a new sensation, a sensation he was less accustomed to. The feeling of hope and determination, what he precisely needed.

He thought about how lucky he was to have Lukas as his friend. He had always been a much better person than he was. He never hesitated to help people who were in need, even If the said person in need was a complete and total stranger. That's what he greatly admired about the blonde boy.

And it would be a lie if he said wasn't jealous of this certain aspect of his personality.

He found himself feeling much better than before, save for his knee injury, which still stung and itched like crazy. The little brunet reluctantly took a step forward and gave his best friend a hug and quickly pulled away. Lukas was taken back, considering Aiden hated hugging with a passion to the point of never doing it even if his life depended on it.

"Wait, I thought you hated hugging."

"I still do. Just take this as a thanks from me. Don't get used to it though. "He replied dismissively, regaining his usual, blunt attitude.

"Heh, no problem dude." He said with a shrug. Aiden was returned to his old self and that was good news. And it made Lukas a little proud of himself for successfully cheering him up.

"Um…Lukas?" Aiden questioned bashfully.

"Yes Aiden?"

He nervously fiddled with his little fingers. "About what I told you…Will you promise not to say it to anybody? They might think I've become "soft" or something."

Lukas smiled and made a cross like gesture over his chest. "Your secret is safe with me. I cross my heart and hope to die."

"That's what I wanted to hear. Thanks Lukas." Aiden thanked sincerely.

"Anytime. You know, no matter how much you keep denying it, you're a real softie at heart."

Aiden huffed. "Think whatever you want. I am _not_ a softie."

Lukas eyed him skeptically and rolled his eyes in a playful manner. "Yeah sure, Aiden. So, are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, let's roll."

With that said, they made their way towards their urban sprawl, leaving the emerald green forest behind.

"Are we there yet?" The brunet asked tiredly as they walked over the cobblestone street leading to the town's main area.

"Not yet, but we'll be there very soon."

"You've been saying that for ten minutes already! Can we just leave this for another time please? I'm beat." He asked impatiently, scratching his bandaged knee. He secretly and desperately hoped Lukas would change his mind so he could go back home and get some rest.

"And you've been complaining for ten minutes nonstop Aiden! It's not like you have bad knees or something."

Aiden stared at him strangely as if he said something really stupid, which he really did. "Well, In case you have forgotten, I can't really walk properly with a _leg_ like this." He gestured to his right knee as-a-matter-of-factly.

"Oh, right…" The blue eyed boy looked a little embarrassed. Notch, he had completely forgotten about the incident from earlier today. He rubbed the back of his head timidly. " Man, I forgot all about your accident. Sorry about that."

Aiden groaned and face palmed in annoyance. He had been limping the whole time they've been walking and he somehow forgot the blatancy. Typical Lukas.

"We will be there in no time trust me. Just bear with me for a few more minutes okay?" Lukas told him, pushing him forward. Aiden wanted to protest, but it was defeated before he could even verbalize it. He ultimately sighed in defeat.

It took about two minutes or so before they finally reached their destination. They came to a stop in front of a wooden door in a wide alley. "There we are. This is our stop!" Exclaimed Lukas cheerfully.

"About freaking time! I was starting to get bored out of my mind." The ever grumpy Aiden complained. He inspected his surrounding to figure out what Lukas has been itching to show him, only to find nothing but stray cats scavenging for food in a trash can. He was now confused. Was he planning to give him a cat? Lukas was a die hard cat person after all.

"Are you sure are we in the right place? I don't see anything interesting." Aiden scratched his head.

"I'm positive. Now close your eyes,"

"Look if this is some kind of a surprise; I don't want any part of it." The brunet crossed his arms and held his head high. "Nothing good ever comes out of these sort of things."

Lukas knew exactly why Aiden wasn't really fond of surprises. Whenever a surprise was planned for him, it usually ended up being a prank, like the time when he was invited to Lukas's birthday party and his cousins pulled a prank on him that ended up scaring the living daylights out of the poor guy, to the point of never wanting to attend any of his parties ever again. Lukas bit his lip at the memory. He stopped talking to his cousins for a while because of that.

"Oh come on now, you can't look at them as a whole just because of what happened last year. Everybody likes surprises." Lukas tried to change his mind.

"Well I don't. And don't even try to change my mind on that matter when your cousins blind folded me and pushed me into an ice cold lake. I had to stay in bed for a whole week for crying out loud! "

Now they were getting off topic. "Nothing bad is going to come out of this one trust me." He tried to change the subject." Just close your eyes and don't peak."

Aiden's protest was once again turned down by his overly excited friend. He let out an exasperated sigh and held his hands up in defeat.

"Ugh, fine." He covered his eyes. Lukas grabbed his arm and opened the wooden oak door, leading him inside the building. "Okay, you can open your eyes now."

Aiden uncovered his eyes and what he saw immediately made his face fell like a boulder off the edge of a cliff. It definitely wasn't the sight he had been expecting to see. Despite showing outright pessimism and disinterest toward the whole idea from the very start, he was personally waiting for something, in all honesty, cool and interesting, seeing how much of a big deal Lukas made out of it. Or at least something that worth the two hour walk with a not-so- good leg and an extremely bad mood. Boy, had he never been so disappointed in his entire life.

Laid before their very own eyes an abandoned, cobweb infested room with rotten oak wood planks surrounding the whole area. The walls were adorned with nothing but dimly lit torches and overly fragile glass panes sustaining minor cracks in the edges. The glass panels were covered with a thick layer dust that looked like they've been untouched for notch knows how long and as a result they lost their capability in passing the light through themselves. Had it not been for the weak light source, he wouldn't be able to see what the whole thing even looked like in the first place.

The wooden walls tended to creak, not in the creepy kind of way that would send shivers down your spine, generally speaking, but more of in the "Oh crud, I should probably get out of here before this thing collapses on me" kind of a way.

Aiden crinkled his nose in disgust. This was the worst excuse for a building he had ever seen; it was more like a long-abandoned prison or an insane asylum rather than a once normal building. This has to be a joke right?

"Okay let me get this straight," Aiden messaged his temples. "You dragged me all the way from out of town, just to show me THIS?"

"I know right! Isn't it great though?" Lukas's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Just look at it, doesn't it just make you want to cry?"

Aiden stared at the blue eyed boy in disbelief, mouth agape. Just as when he thought his day wasn't going to get any weirder. He wondered how in the world his friend could find a rundown building so exciting. Notch, he had never been so confused and pissed at someone at the same time before.

"Oh yeah, this place is so cool it's making me cry of how cool it is. So mind blowing." He replied with a sarcastic sweet tone, throwing his arms up in exaggeration. Aiden watched as the sparkle in Lukas's eyes fade with disappointment.

"Jeez, would it kill you to at least _pretend_ to be excited?" Lukas crossed his arms and scowled at him. The comment he made earlier really rubbed him in the wrong way. "I know this place looks a little out of shape, but it's not that bad honestly."

"A little? Now that's an understatement. This place is a literal dumpster." Aiden pretended to gag.

Lukas threw him a nasty look. _'Joykill. It just kills him not to be a wet blanket for once.' _He bitterly thought. Aiden's negativity can sometimes become too much for his liking and by sometimes, he meant _all_ the time.

"So tell me, what are we going to do with this wreck anyway?" He snorted and kicked an empty bucket located nearby. "Is it going to be our endless supply of cob webs?"

Lukas shook his head. "No dummy." He stood next to his friend and put his hand on his shoulder. "This place is going to be where we sell our books in future."

"Oh yeah, what a good…" His look of mockery and disinterest instantly disappeared and his face softened. "Wait, did you just say…"

He smiled and nodded. "Yup. Where exactly you're standing, will someday be a crowded bookstore with so many people lining up just to buy the best sellers created by our own very hands. Adventure books, kids' books, poems, you name it." He turned to eagerly face a still stunned Aiden. "Isn't that great Aiden? Just Think about it. This can be our starting point. And once we became famous, there will be millions of copies of our works all over the world. Just like Soren's books."

With the true nature of his surprise revealed, he turned away from Lukas and began to look around the abandoned room with a new perspective. As he did, his imagination ran wild and he began to visualize the possible appearance of the future bookstore. The rows of books in varying colors and sizes, neatly located within the numerous book cases. He then imagined a large crowd of townspeople. Aiden imagined the unreal stonebrook citizens either sitting on the chairs, busy reading some books and the other ones, standing in insanely long lines to receive an autograph from their favorite authors.

One of them could be him_. Him_. The famous author signing the first page of his own books or more precisely, his own best sellers to the die hard, eager fans. He could be like Soren, whom his works are extremely well known all over the overworld, possibly even in other worlds and dimensions. While the idea being just a simple imagination from the mind of a little kid, the mere thought of fans beaming with excitement as they receive _his_ autograph filled his heart with so much delight and elation, to the point of nearly jumping up in pure excitement. And he wasn't a person who would become excited this easily.

He turned to face his friend again, whose face was beaming with the same amount of excitement as his did. Aiden didn't have a single clue on how he managed to find a place like this and come up with all these plans and ideas at once. Maybe he had been planning this the whole time, but who knows really. Whatever the case was, he was appreciative nonetheless. He would be lying if he didn't feel guilty about the crude remark he made about here earlier. Fortunately for him, Lukas was nice enough not to bring it up and completely ignore the statement.

Lukas had always been full of cool, unusual ideas. In their little team, he would always come up with impressive concepts related to building and Aiden on the other hand, made them happen by collecting materials needed for their projects. But when it came to choosing a name for their team, that's when their opinions clashed. Lukas insisted on naming their team "Ocelots" and Aiden on the other hand, wanted to go for "Blaze rods". One time, Lukas argued with him for literary a whole day over naming the team after a wild animal is cooler than naming it after an item used for brewing and making potions. They never reached an agreement and ultimately settled for not naming their team at all.

"This place is an absolute mess, I'll admit, but once we are old enough to earn enough money, we can buy this lot and give it the makeover it deserves." Lukas then pulled out a piece of paper along with a quill from his inventory and handed them over to Aiden. "Take these."

"What are these for?" He curiously eyed the objects in his hands.

"I was planning to come up with a good and fitting name for this place, but then I thought it would be better if I leave that to you. We are going to run this place together after all. So, what would you choose?"

"Wait a minute, how am I supposed to know you are not gonna reject it if I come up with something like the last time?" Aiden eyed him suspiciously.

"I'm not gonna say anything this time, I promise. You are free to choose whatever you want."

Aiden stared at him for a moment before returning his attention to the paper.

"Hmmm, let's see…" Aiden chewed at the bottom of the quill. "Aha! How about "written words"? It would make a great name for a bookstore if you ask me."

"Written words huh? Hmmm… I actually like it! It has such a nice ring to it." Lukas grinned, already liking the new name Aiden picked for their future book store.

"Alright then, written words it is!" Lukas watched as Aiden scribbled down the new name on the piece of paper. He then walked over to a wall and raised his tiny arms to stick the sheet on it, but stopped midway. Aiden lowered the paper and glanced thoughtfully at it. Lukas raised a brow and walked towards his friend.

"Aiden why did you stop? Is something wrong?"

Still looking at the neatly written word, Aiden responded. "Do you think we'll ever get famous?" He turned to face the other boy. "Even more than Soren himself?"

Lukas shrugged with a smile. "I don't see why not."

Satisfied with his reply, the green eyed boy smiled and jumped to stick the paper on the wall. When he did, he then took a few steps back to get a better look of his handiwork. Lukas joined him and together, they smiled at the newly chosen name for their future workplace. They imagined their older and successful future selves in this very special place, chatting and laughing while sharing their story ideas together. Written words had truly a bright future ahead of it.

"Um, Lukas?" Aiden asked breaking the silence.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think Soren will ever read our books someday?"

Lukas seemed to think for a moment before giving him a whole hearted smile.

"I wouldn't doubt it."

**A/N: There it goes, my very first attempt at writing a story for this fandom. Since Aiden is my favorite character from the whole game, my stories are most likely going to revolve around him. I head cannon that only Lukas managed to open that bookstore, judging from his book signing day in the first episode of season two. And about Aiden… well, we all know what became of him in the first season. **

**I hope you all enjoyed the story and reviews and constructive criticism are much appreciated. :) **


End file.
